A Warm Winter
by hfjdkshfjkasfhjaskfhsjkla
Summary: The Jones family is going on a winter vacation and they're spending it with Arthur Kirkland. Alfred has mixed feelings about this but has no idea what new feelings may surface for him and Arthur... some FraCan and rated T to be safe
1. Prologue

~Prologue~

Alfred looked out the window, craning his neck from his spot on the couch that he was laying on. It was snowing hard. He sighed and went back to watching the TV, he hated snow. Alfred's brother Matthew was sitting on an armchair, typing on his laptop and blushing. Alfred noted that he was probably chatting with Francis. He couldn't fathom what someone as innocent as Matthew could see in someone as…perverted as Francis (Alfred tried to find a better word to describe Francis but he simply couldn't). Alfred was just about to say something about Francis but thought better of it. Suddenly Alfred heard a noise at the front door; their mom was home from work. "I got great news!" she said with a smile on her face.

"What is it?" Alfred asked their mom. Matthew would have asked to but he was busy finishing up his conversation with Francis and then closing his laptop. Their mother explained that one of her friends at work was going to spend her wedding anniversary (and Christmas) in Hawaii and that her and her husband wanted the Jones family to spend the 9 days with their son at their cottage.

"That would be a nice thing to do; we couldn't just leave the kid alone on Christmas." Matthew said. Alfred expected him to say something like that; Matthew inherited his mothers' kindness.

Alfred on the other hand wasn't to sure. He loved the idea of spending Christmas in some summer cottage away from the snow, but he didn't want to spend it with some weird person he didn't know. Alfred looked at Matthew who was already asking where they would be staying. Once their mom told him where the cottage was Matthew's eyes lighted up and he got onto his laptop, something that Alfred found odd but their mom didn't seem to notice. Alfred took of his glasses and fiddled with them, something he did when he was thinking, he wasn't sure if he wanted to go or not.

Their mom saw the look on Alfred's face and could tell that he wasn't sure about it. "Their sons name is Arthur Kirkland, he goes to your school, if that helps with your decision at all." she said.

"Oh." Alfred said, It did help, Arthur was British and had blond hair and the most beautiful green eyes that Alfred has ever seen (not that he would say that out loud); Alfred has noticed Arthur at school, mainly in the school library. He was always reading during lunch break, he always looked secluded. Alfred only saw him if he was returning or taking a book, he was always tempted to go over to talk to him but he never did. Alfred looked over towards his brother after putting his glasses back on and moving a strand of sandy blond hair out of his eyes, wondering if he knew Arthur, but Matthew was shaking his head at their moms' question.

Seeing the look of uncertainty gone from her sons face their mom smiled "well it's settled then, I already said yes and we're leaving tomorrow!" she said grinning. Alfred didn't know how he felt about spending 9 days with Arthur, Alfred felt his face get warm, he was suddenly nervous about spending Christmas with Arthur. Their mom left the living room, a satisfied look on her face (_'she was obviously happy to do a favor for her friend.' _Alfred thought to himself), to go and start making dinner.

"So, do you know this Arthur person?" Matthew asked, looking up from his laptop and glancing at his brother.

"Not as well as you know Francis." Alfred said with a smirk, making Matthew blush, he loved teasing his Brother.

"w-we're just friends." Matthew mumbled, hiding his still blushing face behind his laptop. "So y-you do know him?" Matthew asked after a while.

"Well…I've seen him around; he's a bit of a loner." Alfred replied, trying to sound uninterested. His eyes were still on the television, watching some sitcom or another. "It's too bad that he doesn't know me or how great I am!" Alfred said, smirking. Matthew had to roll his eyes at this comment.

"I feel so sorry for him." Matthew said sarcastically, glancing at his brother from over his laptop.

"You should!" Alfred exclaimed, getting up from his spot on the couch to get a glass of pop. He came back with a smile on his face "mom's making hamburgers for dinner." He exclaimed happily.

"Well then you're probably happy to get this chance to show him how "hero-like" and great you are." Matthew said, making fun of his brothers' hero complex and ignoring what his brother just said about hamburgers. This time it was Alfred's turn to blush, although he couldn't figure out why in the world he was blushing.

"Well, I don't know, I guess…" Alfred's voice trailed off. Matthew went back to his online conversation with Francis.

After a while Alfred went to his bedroom to pack his suit case. He looked through his closet and tried to pick out the most summer-y clothes he had, he just knew that they were going somewhere awesome even if he didn't get the address when his mom told Matthew. He was looking forward to getting away from the snow. He found himself wondering what the cottage would be like; he wondered how many rooms there were. A thought suddenly came to his mind as he was placing a pair of yellow swim trunks in his suitcase: '_what if I have to share a room with Arthur._' Alfred felt his chest tighten. He quickly packed his suitcase, trying to drive the thought out of his mind. Suddenly he heard a knock on his door. "Come in." he said, zipping up his suitcase. Matthew opened the door and walked gingerly into Alfred's room.

"I just wanted to let you know that dinner's ready." Matthew said, he started to turn to leave to room but Alfred beat him to it. Alfred practically ran out of the room at the thought of hamburgers. He was at the dinner table in about four seconds, Matthew following behind him.

"So, are you exited about spending the winter holidays at a cottage?" their mom asked, making conversation when they arrived at the table. Alfred's mouth was already stuffed with hamburger so he just nodded.

"Yeah, it should be fun" Matthew said, blushing. Alfred wondered why his brother was blushing. '_Maybe he's going to ask mom if he can bring Francis with us_' Alfred thought. The conversation stopped there. After dinner Alfred went to his room to rest. He couldn't think of anything to do so he went on his computer to brag to his friends about going to a cottage and getting away from the cold. He noticed that his brother was online. Alfred decided to talk to him. He knew it was lame to talk to his brother online when they were in the same house but it was convenient. Their conversation went like this.

_The_Hero: So did u ask mom if Francis can come?_

_MapleMonster: What? Why would I do that?_

_The_Hero: Well you were blushing and I knew that it obviously has sumthing to do with him._

_MapleMonster: well you were wrong. And I wasn't blushing!_

_The_hero: yea sure._

_MapleMonster has logged off._

Alfred looked at the clock on his nightstand, it was nine-thirty. He decided that he needed some sleep before tomorrow so he logged off. He went to turn the light switch off, put his favorite pajamas on and then slipped into bed. "Maybe this vacation will be fun" he said stifling a yawn. He was surprised at how sleepy he was. He was so sleepy that he fell asleep almost instantly. He had no idea at the time what new feelings and experiences this vacation would bring...

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**Well first of all thanks for reading my first fanfic (I would love to get some good reviews and friendly advice *hint hint*) **

**This is only the prologue so it's not as fluffy as I would like it to be...but I promise more fluff in the future ^.^**

**I plan on making each vacation day into 1 chapter so it'll be like chapter 1 day 1 and so on...I don't know what else to say so, bye for now :)**


	2. Day 1: Meeting

Day 1: Meeting

"Wake up, Alfred, we're here."

Alfred opened his eyes, yawned, and stretched his arms out. His arm hit something. He looked over and realized that he was in the back of his family's car; his arm hit one of the windows. "You could have waited until the car actually stopped, to wake me up." He said to his brother, recognizing his voice. Alfred sat up properly. He had fallen asleep because he stayed up all night thinking about various things to talk to Arthur about, he wanted to make a good impression so he wanted different things to talk about. He realized that ever since he got the news that they would be spending 9 days of Christmas vacation together his thoughts strayed towards Arthur, even though he never technically met him. Alfred just passed his interest in Arthur off as plain old curiosity and his train of thought was lost as he felt the car come to a halt, they were finally at the Kirkland's cottage.

"So, my friend, Karen, and her son, Arthur, are here, but she'll be leaving at three to meet her husband at the airport" Alfred's mom said as she opened her door. Matthew and their dad followed her lead and went to the trunk to get their suitcases. Alfred didn't move though, he sat in the car starring at the snow covered cottage in front of him. What the hell! Alfred expected to see a summery place with a lake but instead there was this layer of white fluff covering the otherwise perfect cottage. He got out of the car and stepped out into the cold snow. He was angry. Why didn't anyone tell him that they were staying in a snowy place! Then he remembered what kind of clothing he packed, all summer clothes. He packed a few jeans and one hoodie but other than that it was all tee-shirts and shorts.

"I can't believe this; I thought we were staying somewhere warm!" Alfred said, voicing his disappointment.

"I thought you knew, honey." Alfred's mom said. She handed Alfred his suitcase. Alfred reluctantly took it. He decided that he would make the best of this, it can't be too bad; he did want to go swimming though. He glanced around as he walked, suitcase in hand, to the front door. There was a lake, but it was frozen over, no good for swimming. He noticed that there were other cottages, and there was someone running towards his family, the figure came running from the cottage a few doors down the road. Alfred's face pulled into a look of shock and disgust as he realized who it was.

"Matthew!" Francis shouted as he ran towards the now-blushing Matthew, shoulder-length blond hair bouncing behind him. Alfred's and Matthew's parents turned to see who was calling to their son. Alfred could tell they recognized him by the looks of shock on their face (none of them really liked Francis, but put up with him for Matthew's sake). They were only a few inches from the front door and their mom had her hand up, about to ring the doorbell, when she let it drop.

"F-Francis, I knew I would see you here but I didn't expect to see you right when we got here." Matthew said as he was pulled into a quick hug, he had a smile on his face and his blush was fading now.

"Wait, you knew he was going to be here?" Alfred asked his brother, interrupting whatever Francis was about to say. Then it hit him "That's why you were blushing yesterday! You knew he was staying here!" Alfred practically screamed. He was wondering why his brother was acting weird all day yesterday.

"Well, I'll get going now, Matthew, come over to my cottage sometime." Francis said, noticing the expressions on the brother's parents' faces. And he was gone as quickly as he came, bounding away to his cottage like a puppy.

"Well then…" Alfred's dad said, trying to break the awkwardness. Alfred's mom rang the doorbell before anyone (namely Alfred) could say anything. Alfred wanted to burst out laughing, but he stopped himself. Then the door opened and a women (in her thirties, Alfred guessed) appeared.

"Welcome, come on in." she said happily, moving to the side to let them in. everyone shuffled into the cottage. It was warm and inviting. The first thing that Alfred noticed was the Blond-haired boy sitting in a brown armchair that was set near the fireplace. He had a book in his hands, his piercing green eyes moving intently over the page, a small smile on his face. Karen noticed Alfred starring at her son "Come, get you head out of that book for a moment, and say hello" she said. Arthur's eyes looked up and he looked shocked to see that there were other people in the room. He quickly put his book down and got up to introduce himself. He was slightly flustered, and obviously embarrassed to be caught off guard. Alfred thought it was cute how he was flustered.

"I'm Arthur, nice to meet you." He said, trying to seem composed, but Alfred could see through the act. Alfred practically melted at the sound of his voice, it was so…sexy (Alfred couldn't think of any other word to describe it and he mentally slapped himself for having that thought). He could feel his face getting warmer.

"Hey, I'm Alfred" Alfred said after Arthur introduced himself. He gave Arthur one of his movie-star smiles, stepped forward and shook his hand.

"H-hello" Arthur said, a tinge of red covering his face. Everyone went to the living room to chat (and Karen brought out a bottle of wine, for the adults) and before they knew it, it was three and Karen had to leave. She gave Arthur a hug and said how much she`d miss him and apologized for leaving him on Christmas.

"Take the boys to the rooms they'll be staying in, and be nice!" Karen said as she closed the door behind her. Alfred and Matthew chuckled to themselves as Arthur`s face flushed. Alfred grabbed his suitcase.

"Well, lead the way" Alfred said, nudging Arthur. Arthur could hear the smirk in his voice, and he didn't like it at all. Well, Arthur didn't know much about Alfred but he assumed that he wasn't going to like much about him.

"Of Course" Arthur replied as if accepting a challenge. Alfred and Matthew grabbed their bags and followed Arthur. Their rooms were upstairs. Arthur brought Matthew to his room first; Matthew thanked him and went to unpack. They got to Alfred's temporary bedroom "well this is where you'll be staying" Arthur said, he started to leave when Alfred said something.

"So, we go to the same school, I've noticed you around, mainly in the library, and we never really got the chance to talk" Alfred said. This made Arthur turn around, he had Noticed Alfred around to, but he never dreamt that Alfred had noticed him.

"W-well you could have talked to me at any time, I wouldn't have minded" Arthur admitted with a slight blush on his face. He went to sit down on the chair near the window. Alfred started to unpack; Arthur noticed the odd outfits…and were those swimming trunks? "Umm, if you don't mind my asking, what's with the summery outfits?" Arthur asked.

"Well, I thought that we were going to stay in a more…warm environment" Alfred said sheepishly. He moved his arm to scratch the back of his head. Arthur laughed at his sheepishness, he thought it was cute and he just had to laugh. Alfred threw a pillow at Arthur to make him shut up (although he rather liked the sound of his laughter), but Arthur just caught it and hid his face behind it, trying to hide his blush.

"Well, you can borrow some of my clothes, though they might be a bit small." Arthur said after he stopped his laughter. Alfred was amazed at how they were getting along, almost like they already knew each other.

"That's a good idea; I might be able to fit in your small clothes…shorty!" Alfred said, randomly adding the insult, which didn't seem to affect the smaller man as he walked out of the room and returned with a bunch of clothes.

"These'll do" Arthur said simply, dropping the mass of clothes onto Alfred's bed. Alfred was just about to say something when his mom called them to dinner. The two of them walked down into the kitchen, entering at the same time.

"Oh!" Alfred's mom exclaimed. Alfred followed her gaze to the ceiling and gasped when he saw it. Mistletoe was hanging from the ceiling. And he and Arthur were standing right under it. Alfred's mom started giggling like a school girl "rules are rules" she said in between giggles. Alfred wondered just how much wine she had before.

Alfred looked at Arthur, wondering if he saw the mistletoe. Arthur's face was red and he was looking down, Alfred knew he saw it to. Alfred didn't know what to do, should he kiss Arthur? Should he just walk away? Would Arthur be insulted if he walked away? Suddenly Arthur's piercing eyes met Alfred's, reflecting the same shock and questions that he had, but Alfred saw something else in his eyes, another emotion, that made him make up his mind. Alfred leaned his head down slowly, waiting for Arthur to say something. After Alfred saw no resistance from Arthur he closed the gap between them and pressed his lips to Arthur's (causing Alfred's mom to squeal and giggle). Alfred has kissed his fair share of girls but this was different, there was an electric pulse and Alfred noticed that Arthur's lips were warm, almost inviting, and sweet. Alfred pulled away before he was tempted to deepen the kiss, it was the longest second of both of their lives. Arthur stood there, stunned, and then before he knew it he was running to his room. He didn't know why he was running, maybe he didn't want Alfred to see his face (Arthur felt that he was smiling and blushing). He was lying on his bed, his face buried in his pillow when there was knock on his door.

"It's open" Arthur said, knowing who it was. Arthur sat upright before Alfred came in. Alfred sat down on the bed beside him.

"Is my kissing really so bad that you had to run away?" Alfred said jokingly, grinning at Arthur. Arthur looked up at Alfred; he couldn't believe that he was making a joke at this kind of time. Arthurs eyes were so piercing that Alfred felt his heart skip a beat when he saw them peeking from under the fringes of Arthurs blond bangs.

"N-no i-it's not that it's just…" Arthur said, not finishing his sentence. Alfred grinned, so he liked his kissing. Arthur realized what he had just said and felt his face go red, yet again (this seems to be a habit of his now, he noted) "It's just…that was my first kiss" Arthur admitted looking down again, he was fidgeting and shifting his weight on the bed. Alfred felt a hint of guilt at this, to him it was just another kiss (he thought, ignoring the electric pulse he felt in that second they kissed) but to Arthur it was his first. Alfred didn't even think about that, it seemed so obvious now, it's not like he ever saw Arthur with anyone, let alone a girl.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know…but it's better me than some creep, right?" Alfred said, trying to lighten the mood. Arthur smirked.

"As far as I'm concerned you are some creep" Arthur said, chuckling. Alfred was glad that he was feeling better, but he had to play along.

"Hey, that's cruel, man!" Alfred said, a mock look of hurt on his face, well it would be a mock look of hurt if he wasn't smiling so brilliantly. "Well, we should go have dinner now…" Alfred said, standing up and grabbing Arthurs hand and dragging him downstairs to the Dining room (Making sure to enter one at a time, to avoid the mistletoe). They sat at the table. Matthew and his Parents were already halfway finished eating by the time they got there. There were two spots next to each other, Alfred and Arthur ate in silence. It was obvious there was conversation going on before they showed up at the table.

"Hey, want to watch a movie?" Alfred asked Arthur when they were finished eating. Matthew went to Francis's cottage and his parents went to some dance thing, Alfred was bored and wanted something to do. Arthur considered watching a movie, he was bored, but he wanted to finish the book he was reading.

"Sure." Arthur said, making up his mind. He would rather watch a movie with Alfred then read by himself. Alfred went to the shelf that had a small movie collection and looked through them before making a choice. "Well, what movie did you choose?" Arthur asked Alfred. Arthur was curled up in a blanket on the couch. Alfred sat down next to him.

"It's a surprise." Alfred said coyly with a huge grin on his face. Arthur had to smile, they were all his movies so it's not like Alfred could pick a movie that he didn't like. Surprisingly Alfred picked one of his favourite movies, _Nick&Norah's Infinite Playlist. _"You have a great movie collection" Alfred commented befor the movie started. Arthur just smiled in responce. They watched the movie in silence but it wasn't awkward, it was more of a "nothing needs to be said" silence, it was comforting. They just sat there and watched the movie, ocsionally laughing at the funny parts.

When the movie was over they were both tired and decided to go to bed for the night. Alfred's last thought of the day was that he never got to use any of the various topics he thought of last night, his mind was to distracted to remember to use them, it's not like he needed them anyways. A pair of haunting yet captivating green eyes was all that he dreamt about, when he finally got to sleep. In the room across from Alfred's Arthur was wide awake. Arthur knew he wouldn't be able to get any sleep that night, not with all that's happened today. Arthur got out of his bed and went to get a book from his bookcase; if he couldn't get to sleep he might as well read.

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**Well, this is day one, and I LOVE all the nice reviews I got for my first chapter. I'm sorry that it took so long to upload (my computer died so we had to get a new one) but it's here now, i hope that you all like it :) **


	3. Day 2: Realization

**Sorry this took so long...oh well, it's here now. If you have any suggestions please tell me. thank you for the kind reviews...that's it, I think it's kind of obvious that I don't own anything (along with everyone else on FF heehee)**

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"I can't believe you've never done this before" Alfred said with a hint of a laugh in his voice. Alfred's family and Arthur were ice skating on the frozen lake near the cottage and Arthur was currently clinging onto Alfred arm for support. Alfred was having a hard time skating, he tried to skate further but needless to say it was difficult with Arthur clinging to his arm, not permitting him to move. "Geez…if you insist on using me for support do it in a way that allows me to skate around the lake" Alfred said before grabbing both of Arthurs hands in his own, causing him to blush. Alfred skated backwards, dragging the smaller man with him. "Now that you got the feel of it try it by yourself" Alfred said after a while of skating backwards.

"Fine" Arthur said. He reluctantly pulled his hands away from Alfred's and began to slowly and shakily move across the ice. Alfred laughed at the sight; it was quite comical watching him skate, he had his arms out and was trying balance. Alfred skated to Arthur and started to skate around him in circles. "Stop that, you git" Arthur said, his feet moving gradually forward, he wouldn't take one foot off the ice, in fear that he might fall if he did. Alfred skated to a halt in front of him, chuckling to himself.

"Aww come on, you look cute trying to skate around, it hilarious" Alfred said with a wide grin on his face. Arthur's face turned a brilliant shade of red and his eyes focused on something, anything other than Alfred. Then Arthur looked up at Alfred again.

"CUTE!" Arthur suddenly exploded "WHAT DO YOU MEAN CUTE?" Alfred was shocked at Arthurs rage. Arthur was glaring at him now.

"Calm down, I didn't mean to say that anyways. And now everyone's looking at us" Alfred said. Arthur looked around to see everyone looking at him. He blushed furiously and mumbled something that sounded like "sorry" Alfred was about say something but then he felt an arm around his shoulder; he looked to his side to see Francis there with a huge smirk on his face.

"Well, well what are you two lovebirds in a fight about? It would appear that Alfred said something…bad?" Francis said in his thick French accent, almost making the words indistinguishable. Alfred should have known that Francis would have been there, if Matthew was ice-skating he would, of course, invite Francis to come along. Arthur just stared at the new guest, he had no Idea who he was and yet he just shows up out of nowhere and acts all friendly with Alfred. Suddenly Arthur was pissed off at how friendly he was acting, with his arm around Alfred's shoulder, it made him sick.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about? Lovebirds? You got things all wrong, we're not together. I don't know who you are but you have some serious mental issues" Arthur said haughtily. He put all of his energy into glaring at the newcomer.

"Well you could've fooled me, you seem very…close. Oh, I'm Francis, Alfred's friend" good, now he knew who he was glaring at. Francis ignored the glare and moved forward to shake Arthur's hand. Arthur just backed away and Alfred breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Francis's arm wasn't around his shoulder anymore. Arthur shook his hand and mumbled his name.

"Francis did you just come over here to bug us or is there anything else?" Alfred said. Irritation was obvious in his voice. Alfred skated over beside Arthur so he could talk face-to-face with Francis.

"Matthew heard the commotion and I offered to see if you were okay" Francis replied.

"Well we're fine, you can leave now" Arthur said. Francis just shrugged and skated back to Matthew. "Ummm…how do you know him?" Arthur asked Alfred after Francis was out of hearing range.

"He's Matthews…friend, I think they're just friends…I'm not sure, really. He goes to our school, you've never seen him?" Alfred grabbed Arthur's hand, Arthur tried to pull out of the grasp but that only made Alfred's hand tighten around his. "We're going to that bench over there, you seem to not like skating so…" Alfred's words trailed off and he blushed. Arthur looked ahead and saw a bench by the frozen lake.

"Oh" Arthur said. They got to the bench and sat down. Arthur wanted to say something but he didn't know what to say. He just kept his eyes down, something Alfred noticed.

"What is it?" Alfred asked, causing the other blonde to look up at him and then back down again.

"Nothing, it's just…never mind, it's stupid" was the reply Alfred got after a few seconds.

"Come on, stop being all antisocial and tell me"

"It's just, you didn't say anything when that idiot Francis called us 'lovebirds'" Arthurs face was beet red now. He was still looking down but his head shot up when he heard Alfred start to laugh.

"Is that it? It must have slipped my mind, the jerks arm was around my shoulder so I wasn't concentrating on what he was saying, I was too busy being disgusted." Alfred said between laughs. The laughing must have been contagious because before he knew it Arthur felt a chuckle escape his lips and then he burst out laughing. The two of them just sat there laughing for a few minutes. "So, why were you worrying about something like that?"

"I have no idea, I mean, since you weren't denying anything it just made me wonder…" Arthur instantly thought he said too much. He stayed up all night reading but he eventually fell asleep and had a strange dream that made him question his own feelings towards Alfred. But it was impossible to fall for someone after just a day of really getting to know them, although they had noticed each other at school, right? Well that's what Arthur thought anyways.

"It's because of what happened yesterday…with the mistletoe, right?" Alfred said, he looked down with a slight blush on his face. He felt guilty again for taking Arthurs first kiss, but how could he have known it was his first? "It's not like it was a real kiss anyways, it was just a peak." he muttered.

"Whatever, it's your fault in the first place for kissing me and making me feel-" Arthur stopped himself before he could finish that sentence. Dammit, how could he let that slip? He got flustered and tried to mumble something but he just stuttered.

"Feel? Feel what? And I gave you plenty of time to stop me, I paused in front of your face for what seemed like ages before actually kissing you" Alfred was starting to get annoyed now. Was Arthur trying to tell him that he liked him? But after just one day that's impossible.

"I have no bloody idea what I feel, it's just been one day, how the heck am I supposed to know?" Arthurs face was red with anger and his words were louder than the whisper he was talking in before.

"So…you're saying that you feel something?" Alfred said. His tone was hushed; he didn't want to fight with Arthur. This made Arthur sink down into the bench.

"I-I don't know" Arthur said honestly. He looked down at his feet. He wanted to know how he felt but he wasn't experienced when it came to stuff like that. Alfred looked down as well and sighed. After a moment of an awkward silence Alfred felt eyes looking at him. He looked up to see Arthur staring at him. "Well?" Arthur said.

"Well what?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know…maybe we should try kissing again" Alfred said jokingly with a chuckle.

"Do you want to?" Arthur asked, turning his upper body to face Alfred. Alfred looked at Arthur with a look of thought on his face.

"Well, I don't like lying so I'll just say 'sure', it would settle this awkwardness" Alfred said with a small smile on his face. Arthur was shocked that he would admit it; he actually said that he wanted to kiss him…again. Anxiously Arthur looked around the lake; he could see Alfred's parents skating by themselves and Matthew with Francis. They weren't paying attention, so they wouldn't know if they did kiss… "Do you want to?" Alfred asked after a while.

"w-well I guess it wouldn't do any harm if we did…and it would settle the weirdness" Arthur shifted in his spot. Alfred leaned closer. Arthur was suddenly aware of how close they were to each other and that they were both seated so that they were facing each other.

"I didn't ask if it would do any harm, I asked if you wanted to" Alfred said in a soft voice. With each word he leaned closer to Arthur until they were nose to nose.

"s-sure" Arthur said. Alfred seemed to have changed into a different person, he smiled when Arthur said 'sure' and slowly leaned in, giving Arthur enough time to change his mind. Arthur decided that Alfred was taking too long so he closed the gap himself, leaning up ever so slightly to press his lips to Alfred's. Alfred was shocked at the sudden warmth and gentleness but he closed his eyes and kissed back. Their lips moving in sync against each other before Alfred pulled away. He had a grin on his face. Arthur just sat there, not moving, shocked. He was surprised at himself, not because of the kiss but because he found himself wanting more.

"Well, I don't know about your feeling but I think I'm falling for you…" Alfred said after a few seconds. He chuckled at the cheesiness of his words. He sat staring Arthur for a few seconds before Arthur responded.

"…me to" was all that Arthur said, it was all he could think of. "Does that mean that we're…together?" Arthur was blushing, he wanted to at least try going out with Alfred since they both like each other.

"Do we have to make it official? Fine. Arthur, will you go out with me?" Alfred laughed. Arthur joined in the laughing.

"Yes I will" they were still laughing. Alfred took the opportunity to pull Arthur into a quick hug. After being released Arthur reached for the backpack that had their boots in it. He set it down beside the bench when they first went to sit down. He pulled out Alfred's boots and tossed them to him "it's freaking cold out here, let's go back to the cottage" he said as he pulled out his own shoes. Arthur pulled his ice-skates off his feet and quickly put his boots on then he put his ice-skates in the backpack. When he was done he stood up in the snow, causing the snow to make a crunching sound. Alfred quickly finished and put his own ice-skates in the backpack and got up. They started walking towards the cottage.

"You know this makes Francis right about the 'lovebird' thing" Alfred said after a while of walking.

"Ugh, don't remind me of that weirdo" Arthur said. He suddenly felt something warm in his hand. He looked down to see that Alfred was holding his hand. He blushed but let it be. He felt a small smile creep its way onto his face. He looked over at Alfred, who was grinning brightly.

When they got to the cottage everyone was already there, Alfred's mom and dad were working on making dinner and Matthew was curled up and the couch, he must have asked their parents if Francis could come and stay for dinner because Francis was sitting on the couch. Matthew was leaning against Francis, his head resting on his shoulder, and Francis had his arm around Matthew's waist. They both looked very content. Of course their parents couldn't see the two of them because of the angle that they were at. Alfred rolled his eyes at them and Arthur cleared his throat to tell them that they were back. Matthew blushed and Francis just shrugged. A few seconds later Alfred's and Matthew's mom called the boys to dinner.

After dinner Matthew and Francis went to Matthew's room to…hang out. Alfred and Arthur got stuck with washing the dishes and there was no dishwasher at Arthur's cottage. "Hey, what do you want for Christmas?" Alfred asked. Arthur finished drying a coffee mug and looked over to Alfred.

"Tomorrow's Christmas eve, isn't it a bit late to be asking me that?" Arthur said. he started drying a plate now.

"I can get something at a shop downtown." Alfred said. He was washing the last dish of the lot, a pot that was used to cook macaroni.

"Well…I don't know, anything's good, really" They were finished with the dishes now and they were drying their hands. Alfred glanced at the clock that was in the kitchen, 7:30.

"Fine, I'll have to think of something myself" Alfred said with a grin on his face. Arthur smiled, he had no idea what he wanted but he was sure that Alfred would get something nice…he hoped.

They decided, on Arthur's suggestion, to play chess to pass the time. Arthur had to teach Alfred how to play (needless to say he got frustrated a few times) at around eight pm Matthew and Francis came downstairs to ask Alfred's parents if Francis could spend the night, they said it was ok with them as long as it was fine with Francis's parents. Francis's parents agreed, as long as he made it back home in time for dinner the next day. "Hey, Arthur, are there any sleeping bags here?" Matthew asked. Arthur just shook his head, he was concentrating on the current chess match and Alfred was surprisingly good that the game.

"Come now, I don't need a sleeping bag, we can sleep together." Francis said, he took Matthews right hand and lead him upstairs to the room Matthew was staying in.

"Should I worry about the state of the guestroom?" Arthur asked in a hushed voice so that Alfred's parents, in the next room, wouldn't hear them.

"No, No, he won't do anything like that, he's actually not as bad as everyone thinks he is. Matthew's changed him for the better, he used to be way worse" Alfred said. He was winning the chess match, but not by much.

"Just don't expect me to go in there to wake them up in the morning" Arthur said with a smile on his face. Alfred laughed at that. After their very long chess game ended it was ten pm. Arthur won, but it was the closest match he's ever been in. They went upstairs and Arthur went to go to his room but just as he turned he felt a hand grab his arm. He whirled around to look at Alfred "what?" Arthur asked.

"Well I thought that, since we're going out now, that you would want to sleep in my room" Alfred said with a cheerful grin on his face. Arthur didn't say anything; he just blushed and went in the direction to the room that Alfred was staying in.

"You coming?" Arthur asked, Alfred was standing there, in the hallway, with a weird look on his face.

"Yeah, I just thought you wouldn't agree so easily" Alfred said. He walked over to the shorter blonde and they walked to Alfred's room. Alfred took his shirt of and went to the closet to get a pair of pyjamas. When he turned around, pyjamas in hand, he noticed Arthur staring at him "you pervert, quit staring at me" Alfred said with a grin on his face. He was always bragging to his friends that he had the best body ever, and this just proved it.

"I-I wasn't staring at you, you git" Arthur quickly diverted his eyes to Alfred's. Alfred put the pyjama top on and walked over the Arthur.

"It was a joke, don't be so serious all the time" Alfred whispered into Arthurs ear, making him shudder. Alfred grinned "do you want me to go the washroom to change into my pyjama pants or do you think you can handle it?" Alfred asked teasingly. Arthur just sputtered in response, causing Alfred to burst out laughing. After they both had their pyjamas on Alfred went to the bed and got under the covers. Arthur climbed in after him. They fell asleep in a matter of minutes, it was the first good sleep that they each had in a long while.


End file.
